Cammett et al U.S. Pat. No. 824,904, Emerson U.S. Pat. No. 1,399,707 and Weston U.S. Pat. No. 2,716,516 each discloses a carrying handle which may releasably clamp the folded upper end of a paper bag to support the paper bag and its contents.
The Cammett et al device serves its purpose but is relatively expensive to manufacture. The device comprises a handle member of wood or the like on which are pivotally mounted two separate U-shaped wire bails. The two wire bails are of complicated shape with loops at their opposite ends that rotatably seat in corresponding circumferential grooves in the handle member.
The Emerson device is a garment hanger made of wire which is intended to clamp the upper end of a garment. Unfortunately, however, the clamping action is inefficient, being substantially weaker at one end of the clamping zone than at the other end, with the consequence that the structure would not be reliable for carrying a paper bag.
The Weston device does not depend on clamping action to hold a paper bag but instead has two spaced sharp prongs to pierce the folded portion of a paper bag. The strain on the bag material is concentrated at the two spaced prongs and the piercing of the bag material by the two prongs may tend to cause the bag to tear.
It is apparent that there is need for a carrying handle that is both inexpensive and easy to operate and at the same time is capable of gripping a paper bag effectively.